Apparatus for wrapping pneumatic-tire casings.



` T. MIDGLEY. APPARATUS FOR wRAPPm @NMATI'C NRE csiNGs.

.Patented Nov. 80, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

T. MDGLEY.

APPARATUS FOR WRAPFING PNEUMATICI TIRE CASINGS.

Mmentos fuso Mov. s1, 1,906.

Pnted NGV. 80, 195.

4 SHEETS-SHET 3.

. MIGLEY.

MBAR/nus fon wHAPPmG PNEumAlc URE cAsmGs.

APPucmon .man Nov. si. isos.

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Patented Nov. 30, 1915,

'4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS MIDGLEY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICT, ASSIGNOR TO THE HARTFOBD RUBBER WORKS COMPANY, A'CORPORATION 0F CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING PNEUMATIC-TIRE CASINGS.

' l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that' I, THOMAS MIDGLEY, a citizen Vof the, United States, residing in Hartford, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Apparatus for Vrapping Pneumatic-Tire Casings, of which the following is a specification.`

` This invention relates to apparatus for applying a`wrapping of teXtile fabric or the like to shoes or lc'asings of pneumatic tires preparatory to vulcanization.

' dVhen the shoes or casings for pneumatic tires are vulcanized or cured by what is commonly known as an open heat, it is customary to supportthe shoes or casings upon a suitable support, preferably an annular core or form, and to apply to the outer surface of a shoe or casing so supported a Wrapping of porous heated gaso`r vapor -of the .vulcanizing chamber can penetrate to the unvulcanized rubberstock entering into the structure of the tire. Ordinarily, this wrapping of porous material is appliedby hand and the successive turns of the wrapping are Wound transversely around the tire shoe or casing and the supportingdevices therefor. 'When the wrapping 1s applied in this Way'it is a matter of considerable difficulty 'to apply it` with uniform tension and with the N'successive turns overlapped to precisely the extent desired to hold the unvulcanized rubber stock' in proper form so that it Will not flow when softened by vulcanizing heat and so that it will be subjected to the desired degree of pressure throughout. Moreoventhe applicationof the wrapping by hand requires considerable time and must be done by a skilled operative to insure proper application.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a ma chine by which a wrapping of'suit'able porous material, such as a strip-ofr-inuslin cut bias, may be applied over` the pneumatic .tire shoeior casing-when supported upona suitable core orf form,L andI the 'invention-also contemplatesthe provie sion of a., machine by? Whichfthe fwrapping of -pneuii'aatic'tire shoesor casings may.Y be carr1ed"on-more expeditiouslyfthan. it can be l donepbyzhand and Withperfec't uniformity of tension'r throughout the,v entire. Wrapping: "Other obgects ofthe .invention-Will appear in the course of the following description.

Specification of Letters Patent.

material `through which the 'comprising the prese-nt carrying a spool Patented Nov. 30, 1915. Y v

Application filed November 17, 1906. Serial No. 343,813.

in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings illustrative ofthe invention, in Which corresponding parts are designated by similar characters of reference throu,fh-k

out the several views.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view partly 1n side elevation but principally in vertical longitudinal section of the upperportion of] the tire-wrappingmachine, the tire shoef and supporting devices being indicated da; grammatically only. -Fig.' 2 isa transverse sectional view of thelentire' machine taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. land showing a. portion of the wrapping' applied to the'tire shoe and supportingdevices, whicharediagrammatically indicated. Eig. 3 is a hori- Zontal sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view in zrear elevation of the upper portion of themachine shown in \;i`ig. l, parts being broken away to show details of internal construction. Fig. 5 is a' sectional detail View vshowing the mounting -of the spool or sleeve carrying the supply of wrapping material.

Described in generalterm's, the machine invention comprises a suitable supporting frame-work, formed preferably of heavy castings, by whichthe Working parts of the machine are carried,` devices for supporting` and slowly turning in their own plane the tire shoe and the snpporting devices therefor, a rotary shuttle of wrapping material, and means for rotating the shuttle so as tdcarry the spoolaroundv the tire and supporting devices in successive turns` so disposed in relation to the tire and eah other as tov form a complete Wrapping forl such portions of the tire as may not be coveredby the tiresupporting devices. The machine comprises also, of course, gearing adapted toimpart. movement to the various parts at suitable speeds and tension v devices by nieans' of which the tension upon the wrapping mate? rial ,inaybe .kept uniform during the process of'fivfrappingthe tire shoe. f,- 1. .,Referring .now `to the .drawings l; fthe reference characters.- marked thereon.

ignates ftlieginainframe of the machine',

the:y top of 4^which is mounted la:shuttle guide with curved channels 4 to receive correon theirinner faces Y that the tire shoe or casing closed by means of a door or closure 10 pivotally mounted on one of the bolts 3 and preferably provided with a spring latch 11 which engages with another one of the bolts 3 to secure the door or closure when in position to cover the gap. The shuttle'lG is provided with a removable pin 12 which is threaded in one side wall of the shuttle, as best shown in Fig. 5, which affords support for a spool or sleeve 13 on which is wound the strip 1-1 of Wrapping material, and a series of tension rollers 15 is also mounted within the shuttle adjacent to the pin 12 between which the strip of wrapping material.

is carried in a sinuous plied to the tire shoe. rlhe proper tension on the wrapping strip is not maintained, however, by means of the'tension rollers alone, but additional tension devices are provided. These tension devices, which are illustrated in Fig. 5, comprise a xed disk 16 secured to one of the side walls of the shuttle adjacent to the pin 12 and a rotatable disk 1T having a supporting pin 18 at its center which extends through an opening provided at the center of the disk 16. Both the disks 16 and path before being ap- 17 are faced with annular pieces 19 of' leather or-'other suitable friction-producing material, and adjusting nuts 2O are provided on the threaded pin 18 to regulate the friction produced between the two pieces 19 of friction-producing material. In the center of the disk 17 and extending into the pin 18 is a socket which receives a reduced extension 21 at the end of the pin 12 on which the spool 13 is rotatably mounted and a pair of pins 22 eccentrically mounted on the disk 17 engage notches formed in the end of the spool 13, thereby locking the spool to the disk 17 so that the two structures must rotate together.

Rotation is imparted to the shuttle 6 by a pair of gears 23 which engage a curved rack 2-'1 formed on the external curved surface of the shuttle. These gears 23 engage the rack at points sufficiently far apart to insure the engagement of v.one of the gears with the rack when the gap 8 in the vshuttle is passing tlre other gear, and both the gears`23 are driven from a gear 25'which is keyed to the main driving shaft26 of the machine.

To hold the tire and its supporting devices in proper position relative to the shuttle, two oppositely tapered conical supports 27 and 28 are provided atopposite sides of the shuttle guide on a pair of shafts 29 and the Iconical support 28 is provided at its smaller extremity with a flange or washer 30 to prevent the tire and .its support from sliding off. The' shafts 29. to which the conical 4supporting members 27 and 28 are secured, are mounted in bearings 31 and suitable devices are employed for imparting a slow rotation to the shafts in order to advance the tire and its support continuously during the wrapping operation so that successive turns of tlie wrapping material may be overlapped to the required extent. The rate of rotation of the shafts 29 must be slow, as the tire and its support are required to advanceV only aj few inches at each complete turn of thef'shuttle with theispool of wrapping material. Accordingly, worm gears 32 are provided on the shafts 29 and' worms on a shaft 3l mesh therewith. The Ishaft 3l is parallel to the main driving shaft 26 and is driven therefrom by gears which are preferably so arranged that the Ishaft 34 may be rotated at two different speeds. These gears comprise a gear 35 and a gear 36 mounted on the main driving shaft and gears 37 and 38 mounted on the shaft 34. The gears 35 and 36 are connected by bolts 39 extending through apertures in the gear 25 and are spaced apart at such a distance that when the gear 35 is in Amesh with the gear 37 the gear 3G is not in mesh with the gear 38, and vice versa.

To shift gears to change the speed of the shaft 3l a collar l0 is provided on the hub of the gear 35 with an internal rib engaging a circumferential groove t1 in the hub and a sliding sleeve J-12 with a knob 43 is mounted on the main driving shaft 26 external to the malin frame ofthe machine and connected by bolts 41 with the collar 10. When the knob 43 is grasped andr drawn to the left from the position shown in Fig. l, the gear 35 passes out of engagement with the gear 37 and the gear 36 is brought into engagement with the gear 38, thus increasing the speed of the shaft 34 and increasing the Width of the exposed portion of each successive turn of the wrapping material.

To provide for the transmission of power to the main driving shaft. a pulley 15 is mounted on the main driving shaft and a clutch 4G is provided to lock the pulley to the shaft or allow it to run loose thereon, as desired. The clutch 46 is operated through the bell crank 17. the link 48 and an arm 49 mounted on a rrclt sha-ft 50 to which is attached the operating lever 51.

In the operation of the'rnachine the spool of wrapping material is first introduced and secured on the pin 12,' then the strip of wrapping material is passed between the tension rollers 15 as shown in F ig. l. The

memes jend of the'- strip of wrapping materiali next applied -to the tire, .whiclris rn'oimtedl with its supporting-core upon the-conicaly supporting members? :a-nd. the nua--v chine-is then 'set in oi'ierationsand .the tireand supporting core are slowly .rotatedin their own plaine, as indica-ted in Fig. '2,while the shuttle with the spool of wrapping terial'carried thereby is turned in the direction'indicated in' Fig. ilat a rate'such as to apply the' strip ofr wrapping material in a series of overlalipmg turns or wh-irls,' Atter a complete rotation of the tire andsup- I porting devices has'beenmade, the tire-will be completely covered with a wrapping conssting of at least one thickness of wrapping loe applied if desired.

lVhen the desired number of wrappings have been applied to the tire, vthe door 10 will be opened and the wrapped tire and supporting devices will be removed and another tire 'clamped upon its core and ready for wrapping will be introduced within the shuttle and mounted on the conical supporting members "27 and Q8.

Vhile 1 have described and illustrated a single embodiment only of my invent-ion, it will be obvious that the details ot' construction may be varied very conside able without substantially altering the mode of operation of the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for wrapping circular bodies, a fixed annular shuttle guide comprising two separated laterally disposed guiding portions, an annularshuttle rotatably mounted in said shuttle guide between said guiding portions and having an internal annular recess. devices mounted in said recess for holding a supply of wrapping' material, means for supporting and rotating a tire shoe in a plane intersecting the plane of said shuttle, and means engaging!v said shuttle exteriorly and between said guiding portions lfor rotating the same to supply said wrapping material,

. 2. A machine ol the type set forth, comprising a supporting annulus, an annulus rotatably mounted therein, means carried by said supporting annulus for suspending' a tire, means carried by said rotatable annulas tor wrappinga tire ,i.-and means car-j ried b v said*supporting annulus:forwrotatingr; said,rotatableannulus.,

ffl.. ft-machine .of the rtype'v set forth cjomprising a supporting annulus, antannulfus rotatably mounted therein, means lcarried by'said supporting annulusfor. suspending a tire, means carried by said last named annulusfor wrapping a tire. and means on sai'd supporting annulus 'for rotatingl said last named annulus. ,f

4. ln a pparatus of the cliaracter specified, a' fixed shuttle guide, an annular shuttle mounted .in said guide and adapted to rotate ina vertical plane, a pair-of supportingr spindles located close together so as to pass within a tire shoe and turning about tix-ed horizontal axes on opposite sides of the plane of rotation ot' the shuttle and adapted to rotate a tire shoe when suspended from its inner side upon said spindles, and devices carried by said shuttle for applyinf,r a wrapping to said tire shoe.

5. ln appa atus ot .the character specified, a fixed shuttle guide, an annular shuttle mounted in said guide and adapted to rotate in a vertical pla-ne, a pair of reversibly tapered supporting spindles turning about fixed vhorizontal aXes on opposite sides of the plane of' rotation ofy the ,shuttle Aand adapted to rotate a tireshoe when .suspended upon said spindles, and devices carried by said shuttle for al'iplyinpa a wrappingto said tire shoe.

G. ln an al'iparatus for wrapping circular bodies, a fixed annular shuttle guide coinprising two separated laterally disposed guiding portions, an annular shuttle havin;` a gap to permit the passage therethrough of a tire and rotatably mounted between said shuttle guides and having an internal annular recess and external gear teeth, devices mounted in said recess for holding` a supply of Wrapping material, means for supporting and rotating a tire shoe in thc plane intersectingr the plane of said shuttle, a plurality of driving wheels, each adapted to ol'ieratively engage said eX- ternal gear on said shuttle at points separated a distance greater than the length of said gap, to maintain constant a dif/ving engageinent between said shuttle and one of. said wheels, and means for driving said wheels.

7. ln a'iparatus of the character specified, tire \\'ra}fii)ing devices adapted to rota'te in one plane, tire rotating devices adapted to rotate a tire in a plane intersecting theplane of rotation ot' the wrapping devices, a main driving shaft, gearing intermediate said shaft and each of said rotating devices, the intermediate gearingfor one of said devices embodying two trains of gears of different speed ratios and means to render either of said trains of gears operative lar supporting frame, a shuttle rotatably mounted in' said frame and having an internal. recess therein, a spool having a movable tlange mounted in said recess, a circular brake disk carried "on the wall of said shuttle and means extending through said wall and through said disk for adjustably drawing said flange toward said disk.

10. In a tire wrapping machine, in combination with means for wrapping fabric about a tire, tire supporting means comprising a stationary support, parallel sha-tts carried thereby and situated close together and at each side of the plane of movementof the wrapping means, pulleys on said shafts "and on which the tire hangs, and means for positively rotating one of said shafts, a

l1. In a tire `wrapping machine` in combination with means for wrapping fabric about a tire, tire supporting means comprisinga stationary support. parallel shafts carried thereby and situated at each side of the plane ot' movement of the w apping means, reversely tapered supporting spindles on said shafts and on which the tire hangs. and means for positively rotating one of Said shafts.

12. In a tire wrapping machine, a housf ing, a ring mounted in 'said housing and-provided with gear teeth, a plurality of gears= mounted in said housing and meshing with the teeth on said ring, a shaft passing l through said' housing and mechanically connected to one of said gears for dri-ving the same, whereby motion is communicatedfrom said shaft to said ring, a reel adapted to be supplied with a suitable strip ot' iieXible material and mounted on said ring, a pair-of rollers each mounted on a rotatable shaft, worm wheels on said shafts, worms mechanically connected with said first mentioned shaft and arranged to mesh with said worm wheels, and means to retain said tire in frictional engagement with said rollers, said tire being so placed as to pass through the space inclosed by said ring.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name in the presence ot' two witnesses.

THOMAS MIDGLEY.

Witnesses z H. Bierman lVoBsn, BAXLER MoR'roN. 

